Shropshire MPs step in as millions still suffering slow broadband
Urgent improvements are needed to Britain's broadband internet coverage say Shropshire MPs, after it was revealed that nearly seven million connections may be failing to meet the Government's minimum requirements.
Owen Paterson and Mark Pritchard are among more than 50 MPs who are demanding automatic compensation for families who do not get the internet speeds they pay for with industry regulator Ofcom being urged to get tougher on broadband providers.
The cross-party British Infrastructure Group of MPs, which includes Mr Paterson and Mr Pritchard, published its Broadbad 2.0 report today, which revealed that as many as 6.7 million broadband connections may not meet the Government's proposed minimum speed of 10 megabits per second.
Mr Paterson and Mr Pritchard, who have been campaigning several years for better broadband coverage in the county, said that much more needed to be done, particularly in rural areas.
North Shropshire MP Mr Paterson said: "Broadband is as essential these days as the delivery of electricity and water.
"It is very much a complete priority, that's why I met with Clive Selly, the chief executive of Openreach, and with Vodafone, recently.
"We need to get good quality Broadband in our most rural areas, because only then will we be on a level playing field with places like Seattle.
"It is no good wringing our hands and saying it is difficult or expensive, we know it is difficult but it has to be done."
Mr Pritchard, who represents The Wrekin, added: "Internet speeds are improving overall, but much more needs to be done to improve speeds and connectivity, especially in rural areas like Shropshire. I am campaigning for that."
Official figures show that less than half of all UK connections were thought not to receive superfast speeds of 24Mb/s.
But the group, chaired by former Tory chairman Grant Shapps, said the data gathered by Ofcom did not distinguish between connections for customers not signed up to superfast broadband, and those who were not getting the service they paid for.
The MPs said that under the current system it was "almost impossible" to determine how many households did not receive the speeds set out in their contracts.
Mr Shapps said: "Although broadband is increasingly considered to be an essential utility, the quality of customer services has simply not caught up with demand.
"It is unacceptable that there are still no minimum standards in the UK telecoms sector to protect customers from protracted complaints procedures, and ensure that broadband providers are fully accountable to their customers."
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said he totally backed report, saying the problems with broadband speeds in rural Britain were well known.
"I think now it is probably the biggest drawback of living in, or running a business in a rural area, and it isn't good enough," he said.
"If more pressure needs to be put on Openreach to meet these requirements, I'm fully supportive of the report."
